Lunchboxer

So Dale, you don't plan on buying any more Tamiya kits because they do too much re-releasing?!

Dale Gribble

My Feedback: (4)

I won't buy any more Tamiya vintage kits, circa 1985-1990. I am all about their new kits, certainly. One of the best in the biz.

86waterpumper

The reissue thing is debated alot, same with guys who collect skateboards and other things they reissue. I can see both sides too. I could see not liking it if I had any old NIB kits, but I don't. I like that tamiya has redone them, that way I can share some of the old tamiyas with my kids etc. I think alot of the higher end tamiyas value will be safe...I mean I don't see them redoing things like the mountaineer, higher end buggies like the avante or egress, or any of the srbs or porsche 959 etc. There also is the other type of hobbyist, who has project cars or cars from their youth that are original but yet are missing parts. The reissues can mean parts to get their vehicles going again which is a good thing. With the tamiyas looking so scale and nice, it's sometimes hard to remember they were made to run and not just look at hehe anyway...
Yeah man keep it pink! Has that neon 80's feel to it!

Lunchboxer

Right, that makes sense.. I thought you won't be buying anymore Tamiyas period.. ! I was like, no!!!!

Dante77

Hey guys,

holy, I nearly forgot about this thread! [X(]
LB, nice catch! It would look totally awesome next to my neon yellow runner Monster Beetle!
I see some rare parts missing, like Servo cover, original gold wheels or spot lights. These might be expensive to source.
Will it be a runner or restored for the shelf?

Dante77

All my MB and Blackfoot projects haven't seen any progress, unfortunately.
But I bought a very nice Mud Blaster to complete the trio.
These are the pics of how it looked like when I got it. Meanwhile, I completely restored the chassis, using the correct pin spike tires and the correct MSC.
Looks like new. I attempted to paint the body, but after the second coat it fell of my table and landed in the grass! [:@]
I'll have to wait for higher temperatures for another try.

Lunchboxer

Yeah, probably will make it into a runner.. so those stuff you mentioned are not going to be critical for me.. ha! It does not looks like a shelf queen, so.. ha ha ha!!

Dante77

Maybe use some gold HPI wheels like on your Blitzer?
Keep us updated!

Lunchboxer

The problem is that they got damaged too easily!! For a shelf queen, I think it looks great.. but I am thinking maybe the standard black HPI rims will have to do?! (if I were to make it into a basher)

We will see.. not sure what to do with it yet.. LOL! Maybe get some Frog CVDs if I were to make that a runner!

Dante77

Don't! I bought them for my MB and there is some strange binding! Must have something to do with the rotating mass of the large tires. Its gone when you compress the suspension (lower angles). It also works great without tires or the small Frog tires. I need to try the normal re-re dogbones.

Lunchboxer

I see.. that's very strange!! I will keep that in mind..

Makes no sense, though.. ?! I wonder why...

Dante77

I don't know either. I tried everything, leaving the rubber boots on, taking them of, I exchanged the aluminum gear plates with new ones, checked everything for play, etc.
No result. I guess its a design flaw (the angle is quite steep), but they work on the car they were designed for. I'm sure the Frog re-re dogbone/drive cup combination works well in the MB.

Lunchboxer

Just surprised that the dogbone would be okay, while CVD is not... maybe the CVD wasn't designed well?! ha! I don't know...

Maybe need to limit the down travel on the MB a little bit?!

Dante77

I don't know if the suspension travel is less on the Frog, haven't built mine yet. [sm=red_smile.gif]
I'll take a pic tonight so we can compare.

I think the dogbones will work, because they can move left and right in their cups. The CVD is fixed on the wheel side.
I'm going to pull the dogbones from my Frog kit and install them on the MB. Then we'll know for sure!

Lunchboxer

So maybe that's how I should do it.. get the CVD and put in the Frog, and use the Frog dogbone for MB.. ha ha ha!!

Dante77

Ok, here are the pics.

As you can see, the shaft has a pretty steep angle. If you look closely on the second pic, you can see there are some marks on the shaft from the shaft touching the outdrive.
I guess thats what causes the binding. Maybe the MB shocks are longer than the Frogs. I've heared that the Frog dogbones are prone to fall out from time to time.
I think this will happen more often on the MB, since the angle seems to be steeper.

Do you have a comparison shot, LB?

Lunchboxer

Of Frog?! I will need to go home and take one.. but yeah, would be interesting to compare!

Lunchboxer

Got the MB a few days ago.. but finally the weekend is here.. get to check it out a little bit.. !

Lunchboxer

The brace for the body mount is broken... I will need to look for some replacement on the 'Bay! [:@]

Lunchboxer

The metal brace that goes on top of the servo saver.. is that a standard setup or some aftermarket item?! Any idea?? (I guess I should go to TamiyaClub and download the manual.. !)

Lunchboxer

I guess this is a Monster Monster Beetle.. next to my Clod.. !!

Lunchboxer

My plan to steal the wheels/tires for my Clod is not going to work..

The Clod wheels were modified to work w/ the MB hub / spindle only.. basically, another set of rims that fit MB were cut up and glued to the Clod wheels, and then the center of the Clod wheels were bored out..

It was well done, actually.. but I am not sure how well those Frog gearbox can take these giant wheels/tires.. [&:]

Dante77

Hey LB,

thats a crazy MB!

The brace of the rear body mounts is prone to break, it was broken on 3 of my Blackfoots / MBs.
The steel servo saver brace was exclusive to the MB! Its a rather rare part and youre lucky its there. The stock servo saver wasn't up to the forces caused by the big wheels. This was the Tamiya way to keep it from popping of the servo!

Keep us posted on the progress. What about the shell?

Dante77

Oh, almost forgot:

I now have 3 Monster Beetles. I got this off the bay for only 50 bucks. And its complete, minus some small body parts I always keep in stock.
This should clean up really nicely!

Lunchboxer

Lucky! Nice find!!!

When I have time, I will have to tear it down and clean it all up and re-build it... and then decide what to do with those crazy wheel/tire.. see if I should keep them.. and gear it low to drive it around.. or return it to a normal MB.. ha ha ha!! It is kind of unique so I might just keep it the way it is.. and look for another normal MB or something.. ha ha! Will keep you posted here at the thread!